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Ever since I started making my own Vegetable Stock Paste a couple of years ago, I haven’t stopped. It’s actually really easy. You can use a ton of veg that may be going off, you can use scraps and peelings and, like I did here, even broccoli stalk (which you can also add to soups). Nothing goes to waste here!Here you’ll find the Feisty Tapas recipes you can use my Vegetable Stock Paste in.

1. Pour 250 ml water (cold) into the inner pot. Place diced potatoes in the water. Place the trivet on top. Place the chard on top of the trivet, you may have to bed it a little if using it whole. If it proves difficult, just slice it in half, thirds… Press Manual, 4 minutes. Quick release.

Step 1 a: Potatoes in with 250 ml cold water. Trivet on top.

Step 1 b: Chard on top of the potatoes and the trivet

2. While the potatoes and chard are cooking: mix the oil, garlic and paprika in a small bowl (I use ramekins for this kind of thing).

Step 2: mix the oil, garlic and paprika in a small bowl

3. After doing a quick release*. Remove the chard (I used tongs) and the potatoes to a bowl and reserve. Discard the cooking water, unless of course you can think of a fancy homemade bread to use it in (hmmm there’s a thought).

Step 3 a: Lid just opened after a quick release. The chard has reduced considerably

Step 3 b: Chard removed to a bowl, now time to remove the trivet and the potatoes and give it a quick rinse and dry

Step 3 c: Chard and potatoes reserved in separate bowl

4. Give the inner bowl a quick rinse and wipe to dry it (no need for a full clean). Place it back in the base. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button followed by the Sauté button, then the Adjust button twice to set the Instant Pot to Less. Add the oil, garlic and paprika mix, sauté for a few minutes (3-4 min), careful that the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the potatoes back to the pot, stir to coat. Add the chard, stir to mix well and serve.

**This post may contain affiliate links. That means that, while you don’t pay a penny extra, I may get a few pennies back towards running the blog and the Feisty Tapas communities. Thanks for supporting Feisty Tapas**

Squid Ink Pasta with Prawns is one of my favourite dishes of all time, it’s so so easy that I’ve been making it for years but, I don’t know whether it is because squid-ink pasta can prove tricky to find, I actually consider it a bit of a treat.

Ever since the local deli (Allgoods of Ely, now called Lemon Tree)) opened in Ely, I’ve been able to buy it again and I always have a packet hidden away in the cupboard as husband isn’t fussed and, in that case, I am not sharing.

No kitchen gadgets required for this one. I know, you are shocked, right? This recipe is so easy you don’t need more than a pot and your hob. Ready?

Squid Ink Pasta with Prawns

Ingredients

– For 2 people: 155 g squid ink pasta, the whole pack will probably do for 4 people

– 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

– 3 peeled chunky garlic cloves, two whole one finely chopped

– A couple of good handfuls of raw king prawns or prawns of your choice

– 1 teaspoon salt, you may need more to suit your taste

– Black pepper

– Olives, optional

Method

1. Cook the pasta as per pack instructions.

Now, for the next step you have two options: the one that involves more washing-up and less time and the one that involves less washing-up and more time, i.e. you can either do this on a separate pan while the pasta cooks or in the same pan where you cook the pasta once the pasta is cooked and drained and reserved.

2. Heat the oil in a pot, same pot as you have have cooked the pasta or a pot or frying pan big enough to hold the pasta as you will add it to the sauce.

3. Heat the 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and the garlic over a low heat, slowly, taking care so that the garlic doesn’t burn, stirring every once in a while.

4. Once it’s hot and the garlic is looking golden, add the prawns and turn the heat up. Not too much though, you don’t want the garlic to burn. Stir regularly but mind the prawns as you don’t want them to come apart, shaking the pot a bit from side to side (gently so to be careful with the hot oil) works well too for moving the prawns around.

Once the prawns are cooked just add the pasta toss it all well. Add the olives, if using, and sit down to enjoy.

*Pasta al limón con chorizo y langostinos: en español más abajo* It’s no secret that I love chorizo, you can even say that I am a bit chorizo obsessed. No, seriously, you can, I give you permission! I also love seafood and my Thermomix so it was only a matter of time before I published a recipe like this Thermomix Lemony Chorizo and Prawn Pasta.

For a gluten free version, this will work really well with quinoa.

By the way, if you still don’t know what on earth a Thermomix is, this post
will tell you all about it. If you live in the UK and you already have a
Thermomix or are considering buying one, I run the fantastic Thermomix Owners UK Facebook group. Come join the Thermie chat and, while at it, find me on Instagram (I do go on about it a lot on there).

Lemony Chorizo and Prawn pasta

Ingredients Serves 2 or 4 people and anything in between, add a third tin of tomatoes and make more pasta for more people

– 1 big garlic clove or 2 normal sized ones
– Half a big onion or one small one
– 1 small red chilli (optional, I used chilli olives so I didn’t use it this time)
– A chorizo sausage (you can use spicy if not adding chilli, quartered lengthways and then cubed), you can add more chorizo if you are going to use 2 tomato tins
– Large handful of raw king prawns, more if using 2 tomato tins
– 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes (2 if for more than 2 people), if you can get your hands on good fresh tomatoes, even better
– Juice of a lemon
– A few sliced olives
– Handful of fresh coriander
– Extra virgin olive oil
– Black pepper

1. Put plenty of water to boil.
2. Add garlic, onion and chilli (if using) to bowl: 5 seconds, speed 5.
3. Add the chorizo and small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil: 100ºC, 5 minutes, speed 1.
4. Add prawns and lemon juice: Varoma, 3 minutes, REVERSE, soft speed (gentle stir, the spoon symbol).
5. Add chopped tomatoes (if they are very liquidy, place them in a sieve or the inner basket over a bowl first, if using two tins only sieve one tin) and a few twists of the black pepper mill: Varoma, 15 minutes, REVERSE, soft speed (spoon symbol).
6. Add the pasta to the boiling water so that it finishes cooking at the same time as the sauce.
7. Half way through add the coriander and half the olives (saving some for decoration if you want). When the sauce is ready, add the cooked pasta to the Thermie bowl and mix well with the spatula. It’s ready to serve, enjoy!!

Back when I wrote this was a new deli in town, Allgoods of Ely, it actually opened a while ago but I only got a chance to visit it last weekend (I know, I know). It is full of delicious stuff: white asparagus, squid ink pasta, cheeses and meats: fabulous lomo and serrano ham. Let’s talk about that serrano ham today and what you can do to turn it into speedy Garlic and Serrano Ham Mushrooms.

As soon as I saw the serrano ham I knew I had to ask for a big chunk as well as slices. You see, if you ask for a very thick slice of it you can then dice it at home and do things like these mushrooms in no time at all.

This makes the perfect tapa or, if you need a bigger lunch, toss it with some cooked pasta at the end, or cooked noodles, or cooked rice, or cooked quinoa… You get my drift, right? For more tapas ideas check out my Easy guide to Spanish Tapas.

I had the mushrooms with a milk roll that I made the day before following the recipe in page 174 of the Fast and Easy cookbook that comes as standard in the Thermomix in the UK.

Don’t know what a Thermomix is? This post
will tell you all about it. If you live in the UK and you already have a
Thermomix or are considering buying one, I run the
really friendly and supportive Thermomix Owners UK Facebook group. Come join the Thermie chat.

¿Listos? Feel free to proportionally increase the quantities as needed (be careful not to do the olive oil though), this time it was just me and the weather is too hot for anything else so I kept it small.

Garlic and serrano ham mushrooms

Shopping list:

5 garlic cloves

15 g olive oil

A thick slice of serrano ham (just under a centimetre), diced. If there is any yellowy/orangey rind left, make sure you remove it, leave the fat on though!

130 g grey oyster mushrooms (I got them from Ocado but use any mushrooms you can find, the standard mushrooms will do very nicely too)

4. Grate Parmesan of manchego cheese over the top and serve with good crusty bread to dip in the sauce OR perfect if you toss it with cooked pasta or add cooked noodles

Tadah!

Conventional cooking

If you are making this on the stove top it’s very easy, same ingredients as above:

1. Chop the garlic finely.
2. Heat up the oil in a frying pan, medium-high.
3. Add the garlic and the serrano ham, careful that the garlic doesn’t burn, stir regularly.
4. When the serrano ham is looking goldeny (technical term there), add the mushrooms. Stir well to coat them in all the juices, turn the heat down a tiny bit until the mushrooms look ready, 5 minutes or so.

5. Serve with grated cheese over the top and a nice bit of good bread, grab a good chunk of said bread and dip it in the sauce. No, I insist, you must do this first! OR, for a bigger meal, you can just add cooked pasta, noodles, rice, mix well and serve.

Disclosure: I paid everything full price, I just like to blog about tasty things.

Add the cooked noodles, give them a quick stir with the spatula to mix well: Varoma, 1 minute, reverse, spoon speed (if using fresh noodles do the same but adapt to packet’s instructions, usually 3 minutes).

TIP: You can of course easily turn this into noodle soup by adding stock. Easy peasy.

EXTRA TIP: Sprinkle with chopped cashews for extra crunch.

Feel free to play with different flavours by adding prawns, chicken (raw, leftovers), pak choi, spring onions… or whatever takes your I know I will, just make sure you come back to tell me all about it!

This is a quick lunch for those of us who work from home, with minimum hassle but also perfect for a quick dinner.

Serve with Spanish flair (and perhaps a beer if you’re doing out of work hours?)

Okay, so this may not be a classic to you (yet) but I grew up eating chorizo pasta, in fact every Wednesday growing up I would eat lunch at my grandma’s house and I would always ask for Macarrones con chorizo, but I already told you that story here a while ago). To me (and every other Spaniard) this is a classic of Spanish “cuisine” (I write inverted commas as I am not sure anything I cook can be classified under that term).

It took several failed (ok, totally edible but not the exact same flavour) to get this chorizo pasta ready and I had to write it down so that I don’t forget the timings for next time and what better place to have the recipe written somewhere safe that I actually remember than my own blog.

This is a quick, delicious recipe for the whole family and of one those cupboard meals that you can prepare any time (I know I do).

Update: Recipe amended on 23-1-2014, less steps and no olive oil as the chorizo melts nicely.

If you don’t have a Thermomix, you will find my non-Thermomix version here.

Ingredients

150/200g onion

2 cloves garlic

100 g chorizo (peeled and cubed or sliced to the size you want, I tend to make the most of it by quartering it first lengthways and then slicing)

3 tins chopped tomatoes (400 g each, 2 drained, one whole), you can use 2 tins if there’s only 2 or 3 of you and don’t want leftovers

Oregano or mixed herbs to taste (I added probably about 1 teaspoon and a bit more for luck)

Pinch of salt (not much the chorizo will give it plenty of taste)

A couple of twists of the pepper mill

Tomato purée

Cooked pasta. Preferably something with grooves or holes (I’m full of technical terms today eh!), like penne or twists, so that the tomato sauce can flood them with its wonderful taste. You can also serve it over sweet potatoes washed and halved and steamed in the Varoma while the sauce cooks. Or make sweet potato spaghetti and place them in the Varoma on top of your Thermie for the last 3-5 minutes of the sauce’s cooking time. The sweet-savoury contrast is really good.

Grated cheese such as parmesan (parmiggiano reggiano) or even cheddar.

Add the chopped tomatoes (I removed the liquid of 2 of the tins and left 1 with all its contents). In total I had 960 g, pinch of salt, oregano, mixed herbs and a couple of squirts of tomato purée: 100º, 30 minutes, reverse, spoon speed. Cover with the basket (not the measuring cup).

(Optional and depends on how hungry you are) Preheat the grill or oven, make sure the pasta is very much al dente, mix it well with the sauce, spread it on an oven dish, grate lots of cheese on top, dot it with some butter and into the grill or oven it goes until it’s all goldeny on top (I don’t always have the time or the will for this last step and it is just as gorgeous without it).

Otherwise just serve with grated cheese and make sure you read on for tips and tricks.

With pasta twists and grated parmesan cheese

Hint: Make yourself a tomato juice with the liquid you removed from the
chopped tomatoes while you wait… or a bloody Mary of course. It’s
totally up to you just don’t forget about the pasta.

In fact, try to time the pasta so that it is cooked by the time the Thermomix finishes the sauce or after. It won’t do the sauce any harm to wait for the pasta to be ready, just keep it warm. Always remember: keep the sauce waiting, not the pasta. The chorizo will keep infusing it with its taste while it’s warm, the pasta will just get soft.

Tip: You can add sugar but I don’t, it’s all in the diversity of varying taste buds throughout the world and the fact that I avoid adding extra sugar to food.

Trick: Next time, at the same time as the chorizo add a good dash of red wine for a more intense flavour and, of course, drink the wine while nibbling on some Spanish olives while waiting for it to be ready.

Ever since I got the Thermomix this summer I have been keen to adapt this Chorizo and red pepper risotto recipe so that I don’t have to keep remembering to add water to the rice as it cooks (I can be a bit forgetful and end up setting alarms on my phone to alert me every few minutes, although I sometimes even forget to do that). With a toddler and a risotto in the house I also cook in fear that LittleT may wake up and the whole thing may end up rather burnt.

I finally dared to try it in the Thermomix a couple of days ago and it turned out rather well. I think a good risotto will always have to be made with love, time and a ladle over the hob but this is a very close hands-free option! If you would like to give the conventional method (pan, ladle and hob), you will find my recipe here.

Anyone more experienced than me at making risottos in the Thermomix is most welcome to give any feedback. I did a lot of research before daring to take the plunge and did warn husband, as I sat down to enjoy my 17 minutes on the sofa, that there was always the possibility that we would end up ordering pizza. I was actually surprised that it turned out well.

Chorizo and red pepper risotto Ingredients (serves 3 in this house, or 2 with enough leftovers for lunch for me and toddler dinner the next day, if you serve it with a salad and bread it will serve 4-5 I’m sure)

1 onion (100/120 g) (in chunks)

2 cloves of garlic (peeled)

1 red pepper (stem and seeds removed and in chunks)

25 g olive oil

100 g chorizo, skin removed (for those of you in the UK, I use 2 sausages of Tesco’s cooking chorizo). I quarter it lengthways first and then slice it, it makes the most of the chorizo, reducing how much of it you have to use and giving the dish lots of flavour. Thriftier and healthier in one go. I tried once chopping it in the Thermomix and it didn’t work so I recommend cubing it by hand.

300 g Arborio risotto rice (lovely reader Anna has tried it successfully with 400 g and just added a bit extra of all the other ingredients with the below liquid weight)

800 g water or chicken stock (1100 g of liquid if using 400 g of rice)

Chicken stock cube (I use Kallo). This is if you’re not using your own homemade stock.

Handful of fresh parsley or coriander or a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs (optional, don’t worry if you realise at the last minute that you haven’t got any at home). If using fresh herbs you can chop them in the Thermomix at the start.

Salt and pepper to season (bear in mind that you’ll need little salt)

Parmesan (I tend to just grate it over the plates once I’ve dished out but you could grate it in the Thermomix before starting).

Add the rice: Varoma (120ºC for TM5), 1 minute, speed 2 (keep it on reverse if you used reverse in step 2).

Add the water and the chicken stock cube (no need to add salt, the chorizo and stock provide enough): Varoma (120ºC for TM5), 18 minutes, reverse, spoon speed. I didn’t use herbs this time but I would add them in the last minute of cooking along with some salt and pepper but this time I didn’t use any salt at all and just twisted the pepper mill after I had dished up.

I tend to add the parmesan once it’s on the plate (we all like different amounts of cheese at home anyway), apparently the authentic way of doing it is by adding the cheese at the end and letting it rest for a while… but just think of the washing up!

TIP: Some of my readers like to add a bowl with a few fresh spinach leaves, pour the risotto over them once it’s cooked and mix them in.

*This is the conventional version of this risotto, for the Thermomix version click here*

I first discovered this Chorizo and red pepper risotto recipe this time last year, I had never cooked risotto in my life and chorizo seemed the right place to start. It’s (Mostly) Yummy Mummy‘s recipe and, as you can see in the comments on her post I first tried it in February this year. Well, I can tell you I have cooked it a fair few times ever since then and it is one dish that my husband loves.

What I like the most about this recipe is that these are ingredients that we tend to always have at home, meaning that I can prepare a delicious dish that we all love when I have no idea what else to cook.

Sarah aka (Mostly) Yummy Mummy is a lovely lady with a fantastic blog (make sure you check it out), I have also met her offline and can tell you she is just as lovely as she writes. A lot shier than I had imagined she would be, then again she probably wasn’t expecting this Spaniard to be so excited to meet her.

I have tweaked the recipe a bit to suit our taste over time so you may want to take a look at Sarah’s original recipe too.

For those of you who are Thermomix users, you can find the Thermomix version here.

Chorizo and red pepper risotto
Serves: two adults and one kid or 2 adults and leftovers for a work at home adult the next day (you may well feed a family of 4 with this at your household though!)
Adapted from: (Mostly) Yummy Mummy’s original recipe

Ingredients

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1 red pepper (stem and seeds removed, cubed)

100 g chorizo (I use 2 sausages of Tesco’s cooking chorizo). I quarter it lengthways first and then slice it, it makes the most of the chorizo, reducing how much of it you have to use and giving the dish lots of flavour. Thriftier and healthier in one go.

300 g Arborio risotto rice

1 litre hot chicken stock approx. (I use Kallo stock cubes or my own chicken stock if I have any ready)

Olive oil (1tbsp approx)

Handful of fresh parsley or coriander or a tsp of dried mixed herbs (optional, don’t worry if you realise at the last minute that you haven’t got any at home)

Gently fry the onion, garlic and red pepper until soft in olive oil in a large pan until soft.

Add the chorizo to the pan and fry gently stirring every once in a while for the oils to be released.

Next add the rice, stirring continuously for a couple of minutes to mix well and coat it in the chorizo oils. Try not to let it stick but it’s not the end of the world if it does (there are no Michelin stars being awarded today so don’t panic!).

Add the stock a little at a time, a ladle at a time regularly o a ladle and a half if you want to go a bit faster (if you’re like me it helps to set the phone alarm to remind you every 3-5 minutes). Keep adding more stock as the
rice absorbs the liquid. After about 20 minutes and a litre
of stock it should be cooked, with a lovely creamy yet firm texture.

Stir in the herbs, if you’re using them (it works well without them too) and add salt and pepper to taste. Try it before adding the salt though as it’s often the case that, thanks to the chorizo and the stock, this dish has plenty of flavour.

Serve with Spanish flair and freshly grated parmesan and a twist of the pepper mill.

Tip: Next time try adding a splash (an a half) of red wine when you’re frying the chorizo, it gives it an irresistible depth of flavour and, since you had to open the bottle, you can drink a glass of vino tinto with your dinner.

If you’re new to the Feisty Tapas blog (¡hola!) and would like to find out more about me, come this way.